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{
    "id": 873940,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/873940/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 223,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mathare, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Anthony Oluoch",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13425,
        "legal_name": "Anthony Tom Oluoch",
        "slug": "anthony-tom-oluoch-2"
    },
    "content": "The second point that I need to make is that the State has an obligation to show what progressive measures it is taking in order to realise Article 43 of the Constitution, which talks about access to healthcare and social security for every human being. I have been very disturbed about a number of incidents, beginning with the one that my colleague has talked about. Just yesterday, we heard of a young man, 22 years old, who was unable to pay a bill of Kshs56,000 at the KNH. He was forced to do the very degrading and inhuman thing of hiding one-month old baby in a bag in order to escape from hospital. There are a number of other incidents that should trouble us as this House. In Trans Nzoia, which is one of the regions that are most affected by the question of hospital detentions, early in 2018, The Star reported a certain Kelly Wanjala, a 12- year-old Standard Four pupil at Koykoyo Primary School in Kimilili Constituency, was detained for a full year at Crystal Cottage Hospital because the parents could not pay Kshs47,000. This is a big shame. Another example is that of Veronicah Nyangai, who was also held prisoner at a Nairobi hospital. I want us to underscore here that we have hospitals and facilities that have been turned into detention camps. This is clearly contrary and in breach of express provisions of the Constitution. You cannot remove somebody who is already in a dehumanising, vulnerable position from a hospital bed into a detention camp because they cannot pay. That is what they have turned hospitals into. This was in 2016. She hoped to have a normal delivery, but three days later, she developed complications. Unfortunately, she lost the child. The double jeopardy here is that this lady not only lost the child, but was also subjected to detention in the hospital. Many years after we outlawed detention, it still continues to take place and the practice is thriving in hospitals under our very own eyes. Another example is of Rehema Katana, a 12-year-old, held at the KNH after she accrued a bill of Kshs79,884. She was admitted to the referral hospital after she was misdiagnosed with tuberculosis. The family could not pay and the option was detention by the hospital. There are numerous other examples. I want to persuade my colleagues that this is the only House that is entitled to make laws. Article 20(2) of the Constitution clearly states that the State shall take legislative, policy and other measures to ensure the progressive realisation of Article 43, which is the question of access to healthcare. I want to report to this House that I have submitted a Bill - the Speaker has already given his authority - to operationalise Article 43 of the Constitution. This is to ensure that no…"
}